What good does it do to spend federal money in particular places? Let's explore the impact of federal spending in one awesome place, Mount Hood, just above the Columbia River, an hour or so east of Portland, and the highest point in Oregon. It's also the site of three federal stimulus programs: two in the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps, and the third in 2009, as part of the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act. So far, the foresight of FDR has given us skiing in August, a 40 mile trail circling a volcano, and -- of course -- Jack Nicholson running amok with an axe.
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